This genealogy research was done for Richard by Staci Lindsay, one of Nathalie's granddaughters. We are grateful that she took the time to compile this research. It's remarkable to see the information she was able to uncover.
What makes this history significant is that we had never known much about Richard's father, Carl. He left the family around 1933 to seek better fortunes in California during the hard times of the Great Depression. Richard's mother, Signe, was advised not to join him when he was ready for her and the children. No one heard from Carl after that time until Richard tracked him down in 1939.
Around 1934, Signe received a letter from Carl stating that he had a job at a parking lot in Sacramento and that he had invented a signal to alert him when a car entered. In 1939, Richard, then 23 years old, decided to take a week off from work to attend the 1939 San Francisco World's Fair and to track down his father, armed only with information from that 1934 letter.
Richard rode the trains, hobo-style, from Tacoma to Sacramento. Sacramento was much smaller then, so Richard walked around until he found a parking lot with a 2"x12" wooden plank for cars to drive over as they entered. The plank was rigged to ring a bell signaling the attendant. Richard asked about Carl Hanson. Initially reluctant, the attendant finally revealed that Carl was living in a small cabin court in Broderick (now West Sacramento).
Richard walked across the Sacramento River into Broderick and, as luck would have it, saw his father sitting in a chair on the porch of his cabin. He walked up to Carl and asked if he remembered him—which he did not. Richard spent the night with Carl and then made his way to the World's Fair.
